Archive for May, 2015

Something of a no-brainer here so I won’t stand on ceremony. When two of the best Black / Death hordes from the other side of the globe come together for a one-off split vinyl release, there’s only one thing to do: hand over the mere €13 entry fee and proceed to spin the record over and over again.

Both these bands are utterly superb (and have been featured regularly on this blog – invariably picking up full marks); ‘Call Of The Maelstrom’ is equally essential in every way. Even if it doesn’t necessarily feature the best material that either act has put its name to thus far, it’s still fantastic stuff – 37 minutes of incredible dark art available for less than the price of most MLPs.

This four-track EP (37 minutes – longer than some albums!), originally issued on cassette in early 2013, was given the vinyl treatment by NWN last December and, true to form, the label pulled out all the stops by opting for olive green / radioactive snot coloured wax with a little sticker and patch included for good measure.

Personally I’d prefer black wax and no extras for a few dollars / euro less but that’s probably just me being a miserable bastard…

Anyhow, although not quite as essential as either of IV’s full-lengths under this moniker – the monumental ‘Divinity Through Un-creation’ and ‘Enthroning The Bonds Of Abhorrence’ – ‘Remnant Spheres Of Spiritual Equilibrium’ is still rather brilliant – especially the haunting, majestic and sickeningly-catchy opener ‘The Summon… (Ominous Chants of Archaic Tongue)’.

Without further ado (I’m sure you have some porn or something to look at – same as the rest of us…), I decree that Ill Omen is an extraordinary entity and that this is a suitably enjoyable record.

This is one of those cool underground releases that is – ostensibly at least – strictly for the fans. I’m not really familiar with Mordaehoth but I acquired ‘Limburgian Pagan Madness’ as it promises raw(er) material that was previously only available in very small limitation (this, too is limited…), harking back to the days of yore.

While the music isn’t brilliant or mandatory by any means, it is reasonably enjoyable and I was entertained by the liner notes, which demonstrate that Sigwyrd is a Black Metal fan first and foremost. His passion for the genre inspires him to create his own odes and you have to admire him for that.

On the very same day as this, Vöedtæmhtëhactått’s collaboration with Nekrokrist SS also surfaced on vinyl. We get pretty much more of the same from the enigmatic Satanic Ukrainian here, although I do slightly prefer the four choice shrill cuts presented on ‘I Am The Chaos, The Abyss And The Gloom’ to those on ‘Without Veils Of Righteousness’.

On the flipside, ever-dependable rabble-rousing Finnish horde Nekrokrist SS – which seemingly specialises in two-way split releases, having previously conspired with Nattfog, Faagrim, and Förgjord (when will the latter two of these appear on vinyl?) – returns with three trademark offerings of majestic underground Black Metal to complete an essential purchase, which is limited to just 333 copies and is receiving less media attention than the death of an insect.

On ‘Without Veils Of Righteousness’, the unpronounceable pair Vöedtæmhtëhactått and Maquahuitl each offer forth four cuts of raw, primitive and unapologetic underground Black Metal. With an obvious punk-infused edge to the basic crudeness, this record is about as true to the original spirit of Black Metal as you are going to get.

Even though there is nothing at all memorable about this rather repetitive split, it’s total lack of charm is a charm in itself and I’d recommend ‘Without Veils Of Righteousness’ to anybody who wants to hear something simple, abrasive and straight to the point, along the lines of Ildjarn or Bone Awl